Griekwastad is Arnold Vosloo’s first local Afrikaans movie in thirty years. Based on the heinous murders that took place in Griekwastad in the Northern Cape in April 2012, Vosloo plays the role of Colonel Dick de Waal, the officer who investigated the crime.
The news of the gruesome family murder gripped the South African nation at the time and, while certainly not the most comfortable of subject matter, it will no doubt be a box office success.
In writing about the murders in 2012 iol reported the following: “Deon Steenkamp, 44, Christelle, 43, and Marthella, 14, were shot dead on their farm Naauwhoek on April 6. At the time, police said a teenage boy was busy in an outside storeroom when he heard shots fired at 6.30 pm that day.
He discovered the bodies in the living room and drove to the police station in town to report the killings and hand over two firearms which he said he found at the scene.
The State is attempting to prove three murder charges against the boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor.”
In a shock to a nation following the case, Don Steenkamp, who was 15 at the time, was eventually found guilty of the egregious crime.
One thing is certain, it will be good to see Arnold Vosloo starring in a local movie and speaking his home language. He did say in an interview with iol last year, that in preparing for the part he streamed RSG Radio while in Los Angeles as he wanted to “reconnect” with his mother tongue again. Judging from the trailer, he seems to have aced it as he sounds like a true Afrikaaner.
The retelling of the gruesome events of that day back in 2012 will no doubt grip South Africa once again. There is something incomprehensible about a child who commits an act of pure evil – a son and brother gunning down his whole family in cold blood – why?
The movie is based on award-winning journalist and screenwriter Jacques Steenkamp’s book titled; The Griekwastad Murders: The Crime that Shook South Africa. It is directed by Jozua Malherbe.
In addition to Arnold Vosloo the movie stars Alex van Dyk, Jane De Wet, Albert Pretorius, Albert Martiz, Deon Lotz, Ira Blanckenberg, Rolanda Marais, Tim Theron, Jody Abrahams and many more.
Alex van Dyk a pupil at Durbanville High School in Cape Town plays the challenging role of Don Steenkamp. Alex has previously won critical acclaim for his performance as a tortured teen Pieter in the Afrikaans movie Die Strope
Although it premiered at kykNET’s Silwerskerm Festival in 2019, its planned cinema release had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. It is now being launched on DStv Box Office today.
The Daily Maverick has described it as “An immersive, compelling and chilling piece of cinema.”
Watch the trailer right here :
